A few framed Santas as fall begins...

And here we are... already the last few days of September! I hope you've all had a great month since I last checked in. It's been a busy one here and I'm looking forward to a less busy October. We made two trips down to Maryland this month. One for Baby N's baptism and the other to help with our grandsons while their dad (our oldest son) was away for a few days. Oh, those darling boys--at 6 years and 16 months old, Mister B and Baby N sure keep us busy. On our visits, we fall into bed each night very early and thoroughly exhausted, but filled with so many wonderful memories from our day. 

My stitching time has been limited, but I did manage to get a trio of Santas framed and I'm thrilled to share them with you today... I stitched these delightful Teresa Kogut Santas (all can be found in her "Hello Santa" booklet) last year and am so amazed that I've already framed them. Usually, I'll procrastinate for years when it comes to framing my pieces. I ordered the black, rustic frames from my favorite online framing site, Franken Frames, in Tennessee. As always, I used this easy framing tutorial from Brenda Gervais which she posted on her blog back in 2011. Click here to view it. And to answer a few common questions that I had on Instagram when I posted these: No, I do not use glass in my framed finishes. Ever! And yes, I do use a thin piece of batting (Pellon 988) under the stitched piece. I attach the batting to the acid-free foam core mounting board with Aleene's Tacky Spray Glue and then pin my stitching over that. Framing things yourself is not hard--especially smaller pieces like these (the biggest is only 9" square) and you'll save yourself tons of money to use for more threads, fabric, and charts. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

A trio of framed Teresa Kogut Santas--which one is your favorite?

My plan is to gift one of these jolly Santas to each of my three sons when I'm ready to pass them on. I'll share some close-ups below and a link for each one so you can read about my changes. 

This is "Mister S Claus" and will eventually be given to my middle son. He is the thrifter in the family--loves hunting down special, old things in vintage shops, antique stores, etc. So, I thought this red Santa would be perfect for him. You can read all about my finish by clicking here.

 

"Right Jolly Ol' Elf" is one big guy, isn't he? I've decided to pass him on to my oldest son and his family because I like the fact that this design has two snowmen--the larger representing my oldest grandson, Mister B, and the small one in the sack representing my younger grandson, Baby N. You can read all about my finish of this wonderful gold Santa right here.

And finally, "Green Coat Santa" will go to my youngest son. From the time he was a tiny baby, his wonderful smile has always brought us so much J-O-Y. The two deer remind me of him, too, because whenever he sees one in our yard, he always exclaims, "He's a good boy!" (even though our deer are far from "good" as they eat everything in sight!). You can read about this green Santa right here. I hope each of the boys will treasure their Santas when I'm ready to pass them on!

This black ridged molding from Franken Frames is what I used for all three frames on the Santas. I like the simple look which allows the stitching itself to shine. 

Fall is definitely in the air! The mornings are noticeably cooler, the daylight disappears earlier and earlier, and the green leaves are beginning to change to golds and oranges and reds here in the northeast. Are you ready for fall? My house got a little makeover earlier this month when I pulled out my fall stitching and spent an entire afternoon changing summer bees and sunflowers over to autumn leaves and squirrels. I'm always surprised at just how many fall things I've stitched over the years...

My fall stitching includes lots of squirrels, pumpkins, and leaves.

Do  you have a favorite? I think mine is the Prairie Schooler Autumn piece on the far right with the turkey. But that squirrel couple in the bottom left (above photo) is pretty darn cute, too! Here are a few close-ups for you. 

My fall stitching is mostly featured in my kitchen in the corner cupboard, on the sideboard, and in the center of the table. We had some guests for dinner last week and I took a photo of the kitchen. I'm loving my new orange and cream checked tablecloth that I bought on Amazon! The little tassels are so cute and it washes like a dream. Here's a link if anyone is interested--it comes in many colors. (I'm not making any money from this endorsement--I just like to pass on information on products that I've been really pleased with). 

All dressed up for fall! 

I'll share some close-ups of my fall decorating in my next post. Hope you'll stop by then!

Family news... As I mentioned, we spent a lot of time in Maryland (a four-hour drive from us) this month with our grandsons. Baby N's baptism was held on Sunday, September 6th. The service was done in Spanish so I didn't understand much more than a word here or there. But, it was still beautiful. You should have seen the big grin on Mister B's face as he watched his little brother being blessed with the holy water! Afterward, my son and daughter-in-law had a lovely dinner for friends and family. As always, Baby N provided much of the entertainment--he's just the most smiley, lovable little guy who chatters non-stop in a Minion-like voice with a few genuine words (both in English and Spanish as he is being raised bilingual) scattered in. At 16 months, he's already a little flirt who definitely has this Nonna wrapped around his little finger.  

The cake at Baby N's baptism

Our second visit was also cause for celebration because Mister B lost his first tooth while we were there! Oh, my--I've never seen a child so excited about a lost tooth. You see, he was pretty much the very last one in his first grade class to lose one (he's one of the youngest in the class) so he was very ready to join the other kids. So, did the Tooth Fairy pay him a visit? No! He was visited by El Ratón Pérez, who is the Hispanic version of the Tooth Fairy. He's a little mouse who also visits children who have lost a tooth and leaves them a little gift or money underneath their pillow as they sleep at night. Mister B was thrilled by the $5.00 and the letter that El Ratón Pérez left him as he slept.

Mister B was delighted by the note from El Ratón Pérez that my husband is reading to him.

 

There's always entertainment involved with these two! They love donning their sunglasses and dancing to music! As soon as Baby N hears the opening notes of Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop) he starts wiggling and smiling and bopping to the song. I dare you not to do the same when you hear it (click here)! 

We wish we could have stayed longer on our second visit, but we had to get home because our new driveway is being installed. On Tuesday, the crew came and jackhammered out the old asphalt driveway, scooped it up, and hauled it away. They then built the molds around the driveway in which to pour the concrete, and tomorrow and Tuesday the new driveway will be poured. We won't be able to drive on it for at least a week. It's a huge project which I'll be glad to see ending. I'm not one who enjoys having workmen around the house!

Removing an old driveway makes for one very loud, dirty week around here!

A little giveaway... I thought this sweet autumn chart (passed on so kindly by my lovely friend, April, to use as a giveaway) would make a perfect stitch for one of you this season. Would anyone like a chance to win "Autumn Quaker" by Primrose Cottage? If so, please follow the guidelines below:

1. Leave a comment specifically mentioning that you would like to win the chart.

2. Be a follower of Stitching Dreams

3. Make sure to leave your first name and email address if I don't already have it.

4. Tell me about the favorite fall piece that you have stitched over the years. 

 

If you'd like to win the giveaway for this cute fall chart, please follow the guidelines above. 

Good luck to all! I'll pick a name randomly and will announce the winner in my next post in October.

Back to my Italy travels... Whew! It's been a while since our Tuscany trip in June to celebrate our youngest son's wedding. I need to hurry up and get these travel posts written before everything has left my mind (and that seems to be happening more and more as I get older!). After the wedding, my husband, his brother, my middle son and his girlfriend, and I all traveled northwest to the small town of Montecarlo, Italy where we had rented a villa for the next week.  Our plan was to travel to a different town or two each day and use the villa as our home base. It worked out perfectly as there are so many charming hilltop towns within an hour or two of Montecarlo.

One of the major symbols of Tuscany, rows and rows of Italian cypress trees, can be spotted everywhere. They were introduced to Italy by the Etruscans and, throughout the ages,  have been a symbol of spirituality, fertility, and the connection between earth and sky. 

 

Flocks of sheep dotted the Tuscan landscape on our drive to our rental home.

 

I'm sure you've seen many painted landscapes of Tuscany which look just like this photo that I took on our drive--simply magical!

The rental house in Montecarlo was a delight! Three bedrooms, three full and one half baths, a beautiful kitchen/dining/living area and a gorgeous pool and gardens in which to relax at the end of a long day of sightseeing. 

Our rental home (they call them villas) for the week after the wedding. When I saw that beautiful front yard filled with red roses, I knew we'd rented the right place!

 

The gardens in the back yard were so lovely--pink roses, lavender, purple Russian sage, and yellow St. John's Wort filled the hillside beside the swimming pool.

 

The house even had its very own ruins in the side yard!

 Relaxing by the pool after a busy day of sightseeing made for the perfect end to our busy days. And any time I see mountains like those in the background, I can just feel myself totally relax.

This was the view from our bedroom window--such  beautiful sunsets.

The town of Montecarlo, Italy (not to be confused with Monte Carlo in Monaco, the  glamorous, famed resort and gambling area!), is very old dating back to the 14th century. Monte Carlo, meaning Mountain of Charles, was named in honor of Charles, son of King John of Bohemia. It is small and non-touristy which we loved! The streets were not crowded with shops of souvenirs and bustling tourists--it felt more authentic than many of the other towns we visited during our trip. 

We thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the uncrowded streets as we explored Montecarlo. This street led to the ancient Porta Fiorentina. 

 

Look at that massive door! 

 

 

 

We are dwarfed by the arched opening to Montecarlo.

 

So many pretty rustic scenes adorned the walls along the streets. Pots of colorful geraniums and potted palms added to the beauty.

 

Montecarlo memories

The old Fortress of Montecarlo was the highlight of our visit. Apparently, the Fortress is now owned by a private family and is only open at certain times for self-guided tours. The cost was 5 Euro per person and, although it would have been nice to have a guide, it was also fun exploring on our own.

The Fortezza di Montecarlo under those bright blue Tuscan skies. If you'd like to read more about the fortress, click here. 

 

This pretty Italian style garden in the courtyard was added in the 20th century. Originally, this space would have been used to store supplies and weapons and to train soldiers.

The view from the top of the fortress was breathtaking!

It was fun exploring all the nooks and crannies, peeking out of tiny windows, and imagining what life was like here over the hundreds of years it has been in existence. 

Our next stop will be in another Italian town which I'm sure you have heard of (hint: it has a leaning tower). Hope you'll come back and join my Tuscany town tour in October! Thank you all for taking the time to read my little blog and, perhaps, leave a comment. I know blogging is fading away, but it is still my favorite way to record my stitching and travel photos along with keeping a journal of family activities. Hope you each have a wonderful October and don't forget to enter the "Autumn Quaker" chart giveaway if you are interested! Happy stitching everyone. Bye for now...